First Ride of the Year

Its been a rough winter.

How rough I hadn't realized until I took my first ride of the year on Saturday. Before I get all deep and philosophical let me say a couple things. This was the first day out for my Goggles That I built and I got to say they were a hit. Check out the video on Instagram. (and follow me while you're there) This is only phase one. My goal is to add lights to the helmet as well. (more on that in a future post.) Next I want to talk about the gaping holes in the road that I was afraid of even on B.O.B my bigass mountain bike.

These are not potholes. You can’t pay to ride a donkey to the bottom on a pothole! Just saying

On my ride I met old friends and new ones. As I was riding across the hot metal bridge (one of my favorite views of town) I met up with Marko (Old Friend) and Rusty Red (New Friend and so happy about it) and we rode around stopped at thick bikes where the southside soup crawl was in full swing. Again it was so good to connect with friends I have missed. I could feel my soul beginning to unwind. That was when I began to realize just how hard this winter was for me. The Poet part of me would talk about how hungry my eyes had become, how I didn't realize I was starving until I feasted on the company of my cycling friends.

Don’t get me wrong, I am very lucky to have the friends I do have. At church, at work, and my family. I am surrounded by people who care. It is just that I had lost a huge group of people I cared about and all the time I was missing them I was thinking it’s OK

when it wasn’t

My mind knew, My body knew, I was the only one who didn’t figure it out. I can look back on my Facebook posts and find those times when I felt alone, and angry.  I can remember the many many posts I deleted before they got posted because I felt they were too negative. When I was riding into town to go to Wingharts (great pizza, great cocktails) I had what I’m calling a moment of clarity. It wasn't that trumpets in the sky, the clouds parting, and angels coming down from on high. It was someone I know riding the trail in the other direction. I wanted to turn around and head the other way.

I didn't. I’m still angry with myself.

The truth is I battle this all the time. I know I have talked about it before and I will, no doubt, talk about it again. It is strange to be surrounded by so many people who really care about me and at the same time feel so alone and end up focusing on that hole in my life. While my cycling friends don’t fill that hole, they do help.

They help a lot.

This post has gotten a little uncomfortable for me and the truth is part of me wants to just delete the whole thing and start over, or at least edit out the parts that make me uncomfortable. I promised myself yesterday when I had my Moment of clarity that I would be honest with myself, and with all of you. So as this winter finally begins to loosen its grip and I face up to some of the foolish choices I have made I can only look toward the coming months with excitement and determination.

Next time I’m turning around.

Thanks Guys You mean the world to me.

Tangle Bag - Review

The other day I was window shopping at Thick Bikes, Window shopping was all I could really afford after buying my new baby (All City Macho Man Disc) when I saw a smaller version of the Macho Man with a beautiful frame bag.

“Its a good thing I like Ramen Noodles” I thought since that is what i’ll be eating for the next week.  I tracked Chris down and asked him about the bag.  It was the Tangle Bag from Revelate Design. After trying the medium bag it was clear that I needed the large bag. So I ordered one from Thick Bikes and picked it up on Saturday. I got to admit it does add to the already huge amount of sexy this bike has.

Let me tell you first why I wanted a bag like this one. I keep everything I need for my bike in a backpack that I carry around with me wherever I go. I’m so sick of the backpack. It isn’t comfortable, and it makes my back sweaty. After I got the bag mounted on my bike I began to transfer the stuff from my backpack to my new bag.

2 patch kits
4 tire levers
My D-Lock
1 Spare Tube
2 mini tools
Wallet
Phone
Keys
2 Tattoo Magazines

I still had room to add the items that are missing from this list (but that is another story). This made me very happy. So happy in fact that I didn’t notice what is going to be a bit of a downside. The bag, as nice as it is, takes up the same space as where the bars of a bike rack will go. (at least where the bars of most bike racks mounted on most cars go.)

I am classing this as a minor setback.

My bike doesn't spend much time on a bike rack like the ones on the backs of cars. If anything it spends most of its rack time on a Bus. With the bus bike rack I have no problems at all. So while taking the bag off and putting it back on when I have to is a pain, it isn't much of one. However if your bike spends a lot of time on the back of your car you may want to consider your options before purchasing a bag like this one.

[EDIT]
I was asked on Google+ "How does it do when pedaling? Looks like it may rub some on legs?" And I thought this was a good question. The answer is that the bag is very slim and I haven't had any trouble with it rubbing. Here are a couple of pics showing what I have in the bag and what it looks like from above.

Here is the bag showing the colorful inside (which makes things easier to find when the light isn't the best) as well as what I found inside it.

Here is a photo of the bag (with all the items replaced inside) from above. you can see that it is just a bit wider than the top tube. Im thinking that I will be able to put quite a bit of stuff in the bag before it will bulge outward to any degree.

[END EDIT]

Specs - from the Revelate Website
Price:  $70.00

Weight:  9 oz

Volume:
Small - 225 cubic inches
Medium - 275 cubic inches
Large - 350 cubic inches

Color Choices: Black

Features:
-Dimension Polyant Xpac 400 Denier Fabric
-840 denier ballistics fabric around tube sections
-Down tube section padded with closed cell foam
-Beefy construction
- all attachment points bartacked, reinforced top velcro flaps .
-White & yellow interior so you can see your stuff
-#8 YKK water resistant main zipper
-Left side flat pocket w/ #5 water resistant zipper
-Adjustable webbing attachments with low profile cam lock buckles.
-strap keepers
- Hydration tube / battery wire port near the front of bag.
- Gas tank compatible
-Fits lots of different bikes!

Last Note
All in all I am very pleased with the bag and I am glad I bought it. In the end I bought the Tangle Bag in order to stop wearing my backpack. As it turns out I have kept on wearing the backpack and have ended up simply carrying more stuff. I have to wonder if this is just a personal problem or if it is the nature of the beast. I think I now have a better understanding for my friends with so much stuff packed in their panniers.

A good bad weekend

Now just so you know I am trying very hard to keep this blog from being a boring "I did this and I saw this and I ate this" blog. I want to provide you with post that are both enjoyable and informative. This is why I have been taking the time to do the interviews and reviews. That being said, this post is going to be a little light on content but there are things I just have to get off my chest.


Been a mixture of good and bad this weekend. I went to both thick bikes and OTB on friday. I got to have a good dinner and hang out with my friends Paul and Jenny as well as have a wonderful conversation with one of the most intelligent people I know. All while enjoying beer and just a little tequila. It was a great night. Both at thick bikes and OTB I was welcomed by name and I still find it strange. This may sound a little self deprecating but I am still not used to being a part of a group instead of on the outside.

It is good if stange to me.

Dinner and friends went well even if I did for the second time that week end up flying back to town in order to catch my bus. (For everyones information if you ride across the Smithfield St bridge on the shared sidewalk/bike path at 9:45 at night at 20 mph ringing your bell and screaming "COMING THRU!!" You will cause some people just a little stress) To the girl who clung to the railing screaming I am very sorry but the last bus was at 9:55.

Karma is a bitch

I woke up the next morning sick with a sore throat and ended up missing the Keg Ride for East End Brewing. (that ended up at Schenly Park Dammit!!!)  and only got 26.8 nmiles this week which leaves me at 203.61 miles for the year and 123.3 miles under my goal. (GRRRRR!!!!) I am hoping to finish several interviews, and reviews (a very nice multi tool and my new Headlight)

One last note. If you are reading this and want more I have been posting a lot of small things at the Fatguy Orange bike Facebook Page so if you want more head on ever there and like the page so you don't miss anything.

Sunday Brunch - April 14 2013

I'm starting something new here on FGOB and I'm calling it Sunday Brunch. Think of it as a wrap up of the previous week. Things I saw,did, read, and noticed that didn't seem to rate a posting all on their own. Think of it as a buffet of little tasty tidbits.

Clean Bottle Vs Regular Bottle
Yesterday while washing dishes I had gathered up my water bottles and decided to give them all a good scrubbing, followed by santizing them in the santizing solution I use for brewing. I wahsed the bottles including 2 clean bottles, let them sit in the sanitizer for 15 min then put them in the dish drain to dry. I didnt think of them again until this morning when I was putting things away. I was surprised to see there was still droplets of water inside the regular water bottles and the Clean Bottles were both completly dry. Always good to see something that does what it claims to.

I have this problem with water bottles, I'm almost ashamed to admit it. I can never remember them. I washed 12 of them yesterday and the reason I own so many is that when I leave my house for a bike ride it is even chances that I forgot  to put a water bottle on my bike.  It is more than an even chance that while I forgot to put the water bottle on my bike it is sitting on the table filled and ready to go. I sometimes wonder if my bottle feel let down, if they got all excited about getting to go on a ride then i just abandonded them. I kinda feel like a jerk now.

Classic Car Cruise.
Yesterday I went to a Classic Car Cruise in the front of the Penn Hills High School. It seems the Musical this year is a mix of classic 50's songs, Hence the car cruise. (did I mention that Girl Scout Cookies were on sale) Not only did I go but I wore my Thick Bikes Shirt and while walking around with my 6 year old nephew he asked me "What kind of car is this" pointing to a car. I was going to answer "A red one" Since is was red but instead I told him "it's a car like all the rest. it runs on dead Dinosaurs, Pollutes the air and makes you fat." I'm still not sure how I feel about that answer.

Cycling Expo
Last sunday I went to the cycling expo. It was nice and I expected to write a whole post about it but there really wasn't all that much to write about. I don't know what I was expecting but it was heavy on the selling and light on the advocacy. (Flock of cycles was there and I had a great time hanging with my friends, Bike PGH was also there) I got a subscription to DirtRag Magazine and picked up a new headlight for my bike. (Cateye eco) that I will write about as soon as I get a chance to try it out.

Milage
My milage for the week is a shameful 6.21 miles. I wouldnt even have that if not for the laps I did around the school today.  I find it interesting that I can go for a ride on the trail alone or with friends and the miles click by as I'm enjoying myself. but ride a few laps around the school and I'm going crazy after the first couple of laps. I rode until I couldnt take it anymore.

The Wheel Mill
I saw on facebook on friday that The Wheel Mill has opened (indoor mountain biking). Yet another place to mock me. I wonder how long till I make it down there for a little riding. I also wonder how long from the time I get there to the time I wreck and kill myself.  I'm betting to long for the first and way to short for the second.

Review - Planetbike Superflash Turbo

Awhile back whilst riding to work I managed to lose my rear flasher that I had clipped onto my backpack. The light must of slipped off the strap it was clipped to because when I got to work my backpack was lightless. As it was my plan to do some serious night riding I was concerned. So after work I stopped at my favorite local bike shop - Thick Bikes and was determined to get a cheap blinker and be on my way. I wasn't going to spend a lot of money to have the light end up in pieces on the street after sliding of the strap like the last one.

That's not what happened.

After tooling into the shop (Indoor bike parking!) and talking to Chris (the owner) for a little while. I looked at the different blinky lights. I noticed that one of the lights was so bright it could only be described as offensively bright. At 34$ this was more than I wanted to spend  considering what happened to the last one.

This is where having a local bike shop really pays off. I told Chris what happened to my last one, I showed him where I had it attached to my backpack and he showed me how to keep that from happening. Try doing that with an online store.

The light I bought is the Planet Bike Superflash Turbo. The light retailed at thick bikes for $33.99 + tax (which is also the price on the planetbike website at the time of this writing) and comes with a battery and several different options for mounting. Here are the specs from the website

• One Watt Power LED plus 2 red LEDs for visibility up to 1 mile
• New attention-grabbing Turbo flash pattern
• Turbo flash mode is highly visible, even in daylight
• Ultra compact vertical design is weatherproof, lightweight and durable
• Includes bike mounts and clip mount for multiple mounting options
• Soft-touch power switch accesses flashing or steady mode for up to 100 hours of run time on two AAA batteries
• weighs 75 grams with batteries

The website also claims this to be the best taillight in the world.  I don't know about best in the world but it is the best one I have used to date. (did I mention offensively bright) The price was a little more than I expected it is worth every penny. I noticed that I could see the light from the blinky bouncing off the walls of buildings as I rode down the street, and when you are on a bike at night you need everything you can get to be more visible. So if you're looking for a new rear blinky or even if you aren't check out the superflash turbo. I think you will be surprised at how bright this little light is.

Now for how Chris secured the light to my backpack. one word. ziptie.

After clipping the light to the strap he ziptied the clip closed around the body of the light. You might also notice that ziptie lays between the lower LED lights so it doesn't block the light from either of them.

Genius!

I have had several of my friends ask me why I prefer to have the rear blinky on my back instead of on the bike. Actually I would prefer to have lights on both the bike and my backpack but at the rate I manage to break them I usually only have one blinky. That being said, if I only have one light I would prefer it on my backpack for several reasons.  First reason, if the light is on my backpack it is higher up and, hopefully, more visible. Second reason, being the multi modal person that I am i find myself walking to bus stop in the dark, on morning that I don't take my bike. When walking in the dark the 3/8 mile to the bus stop I feel more visible with that blinky letting drivers know I'm there on the side of the road. Third and final reason, I just feel better knowing when I lock my bike up that the lights and cyclometer go with me. so not having the light attached to the bike is just one less thing I have to take off the bike when I lock it up.

I hope you will give this blinky a gander and if you are in Pittsburgh I hope you will give Thick Bikes a visit.

Lube me up

I’m gonna get up on my soapbox and preach at ya for minute.

Lets understand something before I start. Lubing your chain is just one of those things you should know how to do and should be doing if you own a bike. I believe that having a well lube chain, well adjusted gears and the right tire pressure are the three biggest things you can do to make sure you get the most out of your bike. Well adjusted gears and Tire Pressure are topics for another day. Today I’m going to talk about Lube in general and my favorite lube in particular.

I can’t think of anything sadder than the sight and sound of a rusty chain on a bike. I see it all the time at the group rides I go on, or that sad looking bike in the garage of someone I have talked into going on a ride and it makes me crazy. I can tell just by looking that they aren’t going to have fun on this ride and I will be hard pressed to get them out on their bike again.

Sure lubing your chain isn’t something you think of. Its neither cool nor sexy, but is just one of those things. I try to remember and still I end up doing it when I realize that it’s my chain making that noise. Still it something you can do easily. Lube that chain up and show it a little love. believe me it will love you back.

Ok preachy part is over and now a word from our Sponsor*
*Rock-n-Roll Lube is not really a sponsor

Review of Rock-n-Roll Gold

I started using this lube by accident. I was using several different kinds of bottled lube (Pro-link and Finish Line) as well as an aerosol can of lube that I got from performance bikes but I can't find the can and I can't remember the brand name. I knew that it was time to clean and lube my chain and I was out riding. (yeah that loud clicking noise my chain made was my first clue) I stopped by Thick Bikes and Chris recommended Rock-n-Roll Gold -”The King of Lubes” it says so right there on the bottle. I have come to trust the guys down at Thick, so I bought a bottle and took it home.

That was over a year ago and I am still using it (not the same bottle). I have also recommended it to my friends who have started riding and I would recommend it (am recommending it) to you now. I like the simplicity of the Rock-n-Roll lube.  Here are the instructions on their website (and on the side of the bottle)

• Shake well and apply a stream of lube to the chain at the cassette.
• Do not drip the lube on like you would oil. This is not oil!
• Get the chain really wet, this stuff cleans and lubes all in one.
• Freewheel the chain backwards for about 5 seconds...no less.
• Wipe off all the excess lube...
• all of it, wipe the chain as clean as it will get.
• That's it go ride...

This is all I have to do. With the other lubes I alway ran my chain through a cleaner with a degreaser in it first, let the chain dry then applied the lube. Not difficult but time consuming and messy. (you cannot believe the mess I can make with a chain cleaner). I am always surprised at just how much gunk ends up on the rag as I wipe the chain dry at the end. I find that I use about a quarter of the small 4oz bottle each time I clean my chain. So my minimal mathmatical skills say I get about 4 lubes per bottle.

All in all the Rock-n-Roll Gold lube is quick and easy to use and I find that I am more willing to lube the chain knowing I won't have to break out the chain cleaner and add the water and degreaser to it and try and get it clipped onto the chain and run the chain through it while sending water and dirt and gunk everywhere. Maybe this year I can even end up lubing my chain before it starts to complain.

Infini Wukong Light - Review

Last night I stopped at Thick Bikes on the Southside (My Local Bike Shop). My goal was to say hi and get some air in my tires (they felt a little soft) and as I was talking with them I saw them unpacking a bunch of these little lights. When I saw that they had one in orange I knew it was destiny. What I found out after buying one was that it was also a heck of a handy light, but first the details.

Wukong light made by Infini
Model - I-203R
Cost - 12.99

Size - 100×64×14 mm
Weight - 9.5gm (without batteries)
Run Time - 120 hours constant 240 hours flashing
Battery - CR2032 X 2

The body is made of a pliable silicon that allows to easily mount the light just about anywhere, and just as easily remove it. The lights are very bright and come in white (front) and red (rear). While this light falls into the "Be Seen" camp it was bright enough that I would feel ok using it as my only headlight in a pinch. After I mounted it on my handlebars I realized that what it was perfect for. I had my main headlight on constant and the little Wukong set on flashing.  I have never liked setting my only front light to flashing but having one set on constant and one set on flashing worked well for me.

Later in the evening when I was faced with a 3 mile ride from the bus stop to my house in the rain on a dark road. I pointed the Wukong down directly in front of my tire and put it on constant as well. this allowed me to see what right in front of me as well as what was coming up.

Overall I am very impressed with little light. What I had picked up because I wanted a new orange trinket on my bike has turned into something I keep on my bike.

New sticker

I picked up a new sticker at thick bikes. And if im doing it right you just might get to see a pic of it

Toe Clips

These are the toe clips I picked up today at Thick bikes, which is without a doubt my favorite bike shop. The price for these bad boys was really good to, about 23 bucks installed (Bazinga!!) Still I had a feeling that these clips would be trouble.

I remember my last foray into something similar Shimano Clipless Pedals and road shoes. Yeah I was riding with geek warp factor of 10+ (at least in my own mind) as this was before I got to know the great people that make up the cycling community here in Pittsburgh. I also remember how after a month of "Getting Used" to the clipless pedals and trying to learn to walk in those freaky shoes, I still managed to fall over at stop signs about once every two days.

Not Pretty

So it was with great foreboding I tried out these pedals. I found that things weren't as bad as I thought they would be. I ended up taking the straps off for now as I am wearing my giant leather shoes to keep the cold out and they kept catching on the strap. without the strap they worked just as I hoped they would and I found that I was able to slip my boat like feet (size 13 wide) in and out with only a little trouble.  I am sure it will get better with practice.

One thing I noticed almost at once was the difference having my feet even nominally attached to the pedals made. Even now as I sit and type this I feel a tightness in the backs of my thighs that I do not normally get from riding my bike. I take this to mean that I am also pulling on the up stroke now as well.

All in all my first impression of these pedals is a good one. I give them a solid BUY if you are looking to move from platform pedals to something a little more functional and either don't want to go all in and go Clipless or like myself you simply lack some interior wiring that allows you to use clipless pedals with comfort.